St Mary's College, Dundalk

Chapel serving the college

St Mary's College was the first organization in the Society of Mary in Ireland and the first secondary school for boys in Dundalk. Founded in 1861,[1] 26 pupils enrolled on the first day.

The location for the new school was "Church-Green-Hill-zone House" which was purchased in 1859. The priest responsible for the initial preparations of the new school was Fr Crouzet, a French marist priest.

At that time, the college consisted of a primary and secondary School for boys, which catered for both boarding and day pupils but many changes have taken place through the years. In 1983, the boarding section of the college was closed, followed in 1987 by the closure of the primary school. In 1989, the first lay principal was appointed and in 1990, the college opened[2] its doors to girls.

Since its opening, there have been many extensions to the original Church-Hill House and additions to the buildings to meet the changing needs of the students.

In 2011, the college celebrated its 150th[3] anniversary where each student was presented with a special commemorative badge and a prayer book.

On 22 April 2016 the Marist celebrated the end of a long awaited new school. This historic day marks the end of a building used for many decades.

• Sir Denis Henry, 1st Baronet – first Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, a Barrister (Queen's Counsel), Solicitor-General for Ireland, Attorney General for Ireland, and Bencher of the Honorable Society of King's Inns.
• Dermot Ahern – Politician and Government Minister
• David Kennedy – Marist Father
• Larry Goodman – Businessman
• Fred Halliday – Writer
• Joseph Finnegan – Judge of the Supreme Court of Ireland and President of the Irish High Court
• Brendan McGahon – Politician
• Neil Gallagher – Sportsman

Seán Gallagher (class clown 1994), now plying his trade Texas

• St Mary's College, Dublin